10. The Conference reviewed the world food and agricultural
situation in the light of the Director General's report, The
state of food and agriculture 1963 (c 63/7), together with his
supplementary note on developments since the preparation of the
main report (c 63/7 - Sup. 1). It endorsed the general analysis
of the situation and outlook presented in these documents.

11. World agricultural production (excluding Mainland China,
for which official estimates were not available) rose by between
2 and 3 percent in 1962/63, according to preliminary estimates.
This increase made up at least partly for the setback of 1961/62,
when mainly as a result of bad weather the increase in production
had been unusually small and had fallen behind the growth of
population. The incomplete information so far available for the
current season suggested, however, that production in 1963/64
would be little, if at all, larger than in 1962/63.

12. The Conference dealt at length with the problem of food
supplies for the expanding population. It noted with concern
that, while in the world as a whole food production had roughly
kept pace with population growth over the preceding four or five
years, there had been no further advance, and per caput food
production remained at a level

13. In each of the developing regions, in fact, per caput
production had tended to decline over the preceding five years.
Only in the Near East was food production per caput securely
above the prewar level, though, even here, there had been some
decline from earlier peak levels. In the Far East, the most
populous region in the world, the prewar level had been regained
only in the single year 1960/61 (in the region excluding Mainland
China), and per caput food production had since declined
slightly. In Latin America per caput food production had regained
the prewar level in 1958/59 but there had subsequently been a
fairly steep decline. In Africa per caput food production in both
1961/62 and 1962/63 was estimated as somewhat less than before
the war.

14. The wholly inadequate prewar food consumption levels of
the developing regions had been maintained only by reducing their
food exports or increasing their imports. Except to the extent
that food imports had been obtained on concessional terms, the
lag in food production in the developing countries had therefore
led to a drain on their scarce supplies of foreign exchange,
which were urgently needed for the import of capital goods
required for the execution of development plans.

15. In the economically more developed regions the pattern was
more diverse. Production per head had continued to grow in
western Europe and Oceania. In eastern Europe and the U.S.S.R.
there had been little or no sustained increase in per caput
production since 1958/59, though per caput demand in towns was
rising with higher incomes. In North America the tendency of per
caput output to re main constant or even to decline mainly
reflected efforts to restrict production in order to avoid the
further accumulation of surpluses of some commodities, and
production in this region could probably be stepped up quickly,
if it were decided to do so.

16. The Conference noted that the contrasting trends of per
caput food production in the developing and developed regions
resulted largely from their different rates of population growth.
The increase in food production in the developing regions had
roughly matched that in the more developed parts of the world but
their populations had been rising very much faster. Consequently,
continuing population growth in the developing countries made the
problem of adequate food production more difficult of solution
each year. This had led some countries to lay increasing stress
on programs of family planning.

17. The failure of food production to keep up with population
growth in the developing countries raised the question of how far
they would themselves be able to meet their rapidly growing food
needs in the future, and how far they would have to rely on
increasing imports and food aid. One delegation presented
projections indicating that the developing countries would
require increasing supplies from outside, including both
commercial exports and food aid. It was suggested that the cost
of food aid might be shared more widely among the more developed
countries. The suggestion was also made that FAO should work out
the cost to surplus producers of meeting the requirements of
developing countries. Other delegations, on the other hand, while
agreeing that existing surpluses should be used to speed economic
development, felt that the intentional production of surplus food
as a basis for aid was undesirable and would work to the
disadvantage of agricultural producers in both recipient and
commercial exporting countries. It was also suggested that food
exports, whether for trade or aid, should be provided only by the
more efficient producers, in order to avoid the expansion of
uneconomic production. The Conference agreed that however
valuable food aid might be, especially in emergencies and for the
provision of capital in the early stages of economic development,
hunger and malnutrition in the developing countries could in the
long run be overcome only by the development of their own
resources.

18. The Conference noted that unsold stocks of agricultural
products had been reduced in both 1961/62 and 1962/63, and that
the decline appeared to be continuing in 1963/64. The reduction
had been particularly marked in the case of grains. Stocks of
sugar were also reduced in 1962/63, but there were large
increases for dried skim milk and cotton. For most other
agricultural products there was little change in the level of
stocks in 1962/63.

19. The decline in world prices for agricultural products had
been checked, at least temporarily, in 1962 and 1963. This
appeared to reflect to a large extent specific factors affecting
the supply of a few individual commodities, notably sugar, grains
and sisal.

20. Several delegations suggested the possibility that more
permanent structural changes in world trade might be under way.
While the recent large grain imports into the countries of
eastern Europe, the U.S.S.R. and Mainland China resulted
primarily from bad weather and small harvests in these countries.
the possibility was noted that with the growth of populations and
incomes they might continue to have substantial import
requirements. It was also possible that the long period of low
prices had finally begun to discourage the expansion of
production of some commodities for export. Because of the
uncertainty of future developments, the Conference requested the
Director-General to keep the situation closely under review.

21. At the same time, however, it was essential that efforts
to improve the position of agricultural products on world markets
should not be relaxed. Over the last decade the volume of world
commercial agricultural exports (excluding shipments on special
terms) had risen by about 35 percent. This was by no means an
inconsiderable figure, and represented a substantial effort and
investment by exporting countries. But agricultural prices on
world markets had fallen almost continuously since the Korean
war, except for short-lived recoveries in 1954 and 1957
reflecting price increases for only a few commodities. Thus the
rise in earnings from the increased volume of trade had been only
about 13 percent at current prices. Moreover, if the rising cost
of manufactured goods on world markets was taken into account,
the real increase in the capacity of agricultural exports to pay
for imports of manufactured goods was no more than 6 percent, or
about a sixth of what it would have been if the terms of trade
had not deteriorated. Some delegations considered that studies of
the cost and price structure of manufactured goods should be made
by the appropriate agencies.

22. The Conference stressed that the fundamental problem of
world agricultural markets was the decline in the terms of trade
of agricultural exporters. Price fluctuations and price
instability gave rise to most serious problems; they made
coherent development planning extremely difficult, and on
domestic markets were one of the main obstacles to an adequate
expansion of farm production in developing countries. But on
world markets as a whole they took second place to the relentless
falling trend which restricted export earnings and denied to
developing countries the foreign exchange they so urgently needed
for healthy economic development.

23. There was as yet no clear evidence of a change in the
basic factors which for many years had tended to restrict the
growth of the market for agricultural exports. For many products
exportable supplies had tended to outrun import demand. The
growth of population in the developed countries, still the main
importers, was relatively slow. At their income levels further
rises in income per head brought rather small increases in the
demand for food, and the increase which did occur went largely to
more elaborate processing and distribution services. The farm
production of the developed countries themselves continued to
rise as a result of improved methods, aided by support and
protective measures, which tended to raise retail prices and to
reduce consumption. For such products as fibers and rubber,
synthetic substitutes took an increasing share of the market.

24. In a few sectors such as forest products and some fruits,
new markets might in time open up, for example in eastern Europe
and the semideveloped countries whose imports from developing
countries were still relatively small. The Conference recognized
the desirability of closer study of the possibilities of
expanding trade among primary exporting countries, particularly
countries in process of development, with special reference to
the nature, extent, and direction of such trade, and to the
institutional arrangements and techniques which might be evolved
for promoting its expansion. Whilst taking note of the need for
close co-ordination of any possible program of study of these
questions with related programs as were already being pursued by
other bodies and, bearing in mind especially the interest likely
to be shown in these matters by the forthcoming United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development, the Conference requested the
Director-General to consider the possibility of undertaking some
studies in this field. In particular, the Conference requested
him to inform the Council and the Committee on Commodity Problems
(CCP) of the decisions and recommendations on this subject of the
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and, if
appropriate, to initiate action for a possible program of work in
this field.

25. It was recalled, however, that FAO's detailed projections
to 1970 did not indicate, even on favorable assumptions, a growth
of the world market for agricultural products which would bear
much relation to the needs of the developing countries for
increased earnings of foreign exchange. Several delegations
therefore suggested that attention be given to increased
processing of agricultural products in developing countries, and
to the location in these countries of industries for the
production of farm requisites.

26. The Conference discussed the steps needed to foster
agricultural production in the developing countries. It noted
that almost all of these countries had now adopted a greater or
lesser degree of planning for economic development in order to
make the best of their limited resources. It therefore welcomed
the Director-General's increased emphasis on assisting countries
in formulating and implementing plans for agricultural growth as
an integral part of over-all economic development. It also
commended the comparative information on agricultural plans given
in the report on The state of food and agriculture 1963, and it
was suggested that FAO should bring together more complete
summaries of the plans of the various countries, so as to keep
governments informed of the objectives, targets, and measures
that were proposed.

27. Support was given to the recommendation of the World Food
Congress for the establishment of an international institute for
agricultural development and planning, and also regional
institutes such as that proposed by the Sixth FAO Regional
Conference for the Near East. A main function of these institutes
would be the training of national personnel in agricultural
planning. Emphasis was placed on the importance of close
collaboration with the training programs of the United Nations
regional development institutes.

28. The most careful elaboration of agricultural development
programs would, however, be of no avail if they could not be
implemented. It was generally recognized that the progress of
agricultural science had made it technically possible to achieve
the goal of freedom from hunger, but that many social, cultural,
economic and political barriers remained to be overcome before
this goal could be reached. Some of the obstacles to planning and
development were external, such as the problems of international
trade. Others were within the developing countries themselves,
including shortages of capital, lack of production requisites,
institutional defects, and problems of disseminating modern
methods to farmers.

29. The Conference stressed the value of country studies to
determine the causes of success and failure in agricultural
development. Useful examples were the studies of the agricultural
development of Japan and Mexico discussed at the World Food
Congress. The Director-General was also requested to make case
studies of the combinations of measures that had been found most
effective in promoting agricultural development in different
countries, both developing and more developed.

30. The Conference noted that increased agricultural
productivity was necessary both to meet the needs of the growing
urban population characteristic of economic development and to
raise incomes in agriculture which generally continued to lag
behind those in other occupations. It therefore welcomed the
study of basic factors affecting agricultural productivity
included in the report on The state of food and agriculture 1963.
This study constituted a useful opening up of this important
subject and would be helpful to the developing countries in their
planning.

31. The Conference also commended the study in The state of
food and agriculture 1963, concerning fertilizer use. This study
clearly illustrated the potential value of fertilizers; but it
also stressed that they could not make their full contribution
without parallel advances in other technical fields or without
changes in the economic and social climate that would encourage
the use of improved practices, or without systems of distribution
and credit that ensure the availability of fertilizers to farmers
when needed. The Conference endorsed the emphasis of the World
Food Congress on the importance of measures to increase the use
of fertilizers in developing countries.

32. In many developing countries the institutional impediments
to carrying out development plans were formidable. A major
obstacle was obsolete systems of land tenure that left the farmer
little or no incentive to increase production for the market.
Security of tenure was of special importance for agricultural
development. The Conference emphasized, however, that agrarian
reform must include the provision of credit and production
requisites along with improved marketing services. Many
delegations from less developed countries informed the Conference
that their governments were following this integrated approach,
not only where land reform had been carried out but also in
established farming areas as a means of raising productivity,
often through cooperative organizations or agricultural
development corporations.

33. Much stress was laid on the need for improved marketing
especially in developing countries, as a means of ensuring
returns to farmers which would encourage increased production and
better-quality products. The retail trade was often a
particularly crowded sector in the developing countries, and its
rationalization was essential. It was necessary to ensure
reasonable prices not only for what the farmer sold but also for
what he bought. The Conference also emphasized the importance of
reducing losses in storage and marketing.

34. Without marketing improvements, price support policies in
developing countries were ineffective at the farm level and could
have little influence on output. The Conference noted that a
number of developing countries were taking steps to make price
supports more effective at the farm level.

35. Adequate farm credit was of crucial importance. The
Conference noted that a group of specialists, appointed by the
Director-General to investigate the needs for financing in
agriculture and the possibilities for strengthening the
provisions of farm credit through co-operative and other
organizations, had stressed the dangers of considering
agricultural credit in isolation. Agricultural credit was only
one essential factor of the complex and interrelated problems of
agricultural development. Institutional arrangements were
required that combined the provision of sufficient loanable funds
(preferably supervised) with a well-functioning marketing system
for agricultural products and with the supply of the necessary
production requisites.

36. A major problem was the financing of rural development
programs, especially where foreign exchange was involved, for
example for fertilizers and other production requisites. The main
responsibility for the provision of investment resources must of
course rest with the developing countries themselves. As a result
of the continued weakness of world markets for agricultural
products these countries were gravely hampered in their efforts
to find the necessary resources.

37. In connection with foreign aid, there was support for the
recommendation of the World Food Congress that an international
fund should be established to finance credit to small and medium
farmers. The Conference therefore welcomed the increased interest
of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development in
financing agriculture and farm credit, and stressed that FAO
should cooperate closely with the Bank in any measures for
expanding resources for agricultural development. Attention was
also drawn to recent proposals for the international financing of
proposed land reform measures and of crop insurance. Many
delegations supported the proposal that the savings made
available by general disarmament might be used for development
purposes, especially agricultural development.

38. In many countries another major obstacle to development
was the lack of trained manpower. The Conference therefore
welcomed the Organization's increasing emphasis on training,
especially in regional and national centers.

39. Education, training, research and extension were closely
linked. It was important that the level of instruction be
carefully geared to the level of absorption of the farmers. The
example was cited of the short courses for farmers in Tanganyika
which concentrated on a single major improvement. In some
countries it had been found valuable to direct training and
extension primarily toward the more receptive farmers. It was
suggested that the Director-General should investigate ways of
inducing farmers in developing countries to accept more readily
new crops and modifications in methods.

40. The Conference stressed the importance of the training
aspects of technical assistance projects. It was suggested that
the developing countries could effectively use only a limited
number of high-level experts. There was an even greater need for
middle-level practical experts who could work with the local
people, take executive responsibility, provide training even for
people who were not at a very advanced level, and show how their
advice could be put into effect.

41. The provision of national counterpart staff to work with
foreign experts was mentioned as a special problem. While it was
often difficult to provide adequate counterparts, they were
essential if the work was to be carried on after the expert had
left.

42. The Conference stressed the importance of the forthcoming
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. This
Conference would represent an outstanding opportunity for
governments to further international co-operation on commodity
questions, to find solutions to the problems of international
trade in general, and, through the improvement of conditions in
international trade and financing to promote a more rapid
economic growth in all countries, and particularly in developing
countries. Action resulting in an expansion of international
trade and financing could provide solutions to many of the
problems now hampering development. In this connection, many
delegations believed that no real improvement could be looked for
without radically new policies, for agricultural production and
trade were often too sensitive to be left solely to the free play
of market forces.

43. The Conference agreed that no effort should be spared by
governments and international organizations in working for the
success of the United Nations Conference. FAO should contribute
to the fullest extent in the preparations for the United Nations
Conference, its servicing and the follow-up action. The
Conference noted that FAO could be particularly helpful by making
available its experience on problems of production, consumption
and trade in agricultural commodities. It believed that the
peculiar economic, social and structural characteristics of
agriculture should be given the attention they deserved in the
deliberations of the United Nations Conference.

44. The Conference welcomed the program for an FAO
contribution undertaken by the Director-General in cooperation
with the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference and
adopted the following resolution:

RESOLUTION No. 1/63

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

THE CONFERENCE

Noting with concern the persistent decline in the terms of
trade of agricultural commodities and its adverse effects on
export earnings of developing countries,

Recalling that present patterns of international trade result
in a decline of the purchasing power of agricultural exporters,
while importers, especially in industrially-based countries,
benefit from relatively low prices of agricultural commodities,
and that such patterns are not conducive to promoting the common
welfare by the speedy raising of levels of nutrition and
standards of living of the people of developing countries,

Considering that the World Food Congress has acknowledged that
the instability of world prices and the very slow growth of the
purchasing power of the developing countries are major
bottlenecks which may seriously jeopardize the economic growth
essential for the conquest of hunger and malnutrition,

Taking into consideration Resolutions 915 and 916 (XXXIV) of
the Economic and Social Council and Resolution 1785 (XVII) of the
General Assembly of the United Nations,

Welcomes the forthcoming United Nations Conference on Trade
and Development;

Stresses the close link between problems of trade and
development and those of hunger and malnutrition;

Urges the governments participating in that Conference to
include in their delegations specialists in agricultural
problems;

Invites the states which will participate in the United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development, in dealing with the
various items of its agenda and documents and proposals
contributing to the aims of the Conference, to give serious
consideration to the Joint Declaration by representatives of 75
developing countries at the Eighteenth Session of the General
Assembly of the United Nations;

Recommends that governments of both the developed and the
developing countries give full consideration to the study of
international trade problems contained in the agenda of the
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, paying also
particular attention to the study of trade and other policy
measures designed to accelerate economic development;

Recommends further that the Director-General give the highest
priority to preparatory work for the United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development, emphasizing the agricultural aspects of
the items included in the agenda, and that he make available to
the Conference all the FAO experience and technical knowledge of
the factors which keep the flows of trade from:

(a) improving the efficiency of the production and
distribution of all food and agricultural products,

(b)
bettering the condition of rural populations, and

(c) contributing toward an expanding world economy in
which the gap between developed and developing countries
would speedily narrow;

Invites the Director-General to continue, within the framework
of the Program of Work for 1964-65 adopted by the FAO Conference,
the study of methods to restore health to the markets and
stabilize prices of agricultural commodities at equitable and
remunerative levels.

45. The Conference considered the main aspects of commodity
trade and the role that exports of agricultural commodities
played in the development of the developing countries. The
Conference was again concerned in particular about the slow
growth of earnings from agricultural exports, the steadily
worsening terms of trade of agricultural commodities and the
fluctuations in prices and quantities exported. These problems
still constituted a serious handicap for the development of
developing countries. It was felt necessary to press for the
adoption of suitable remedial measures. However, it was
recognized that certain aspects of those problems needed further
study.

46. The current difficulties in the commodity field arose in
part from the persistence of barriers to imports of agricultural
commodities. In the case of many tropical commodities, barriers
to trade took the form of import duties and specific internal
taxes on the consumption of these commodities. In the case of
commodities from the temperate zones, such barriers frequently
took the form of quotas or import levies associated with the
operation of domestic agricultural support policies. These had
the effect of limiting the demand for imports and in some cases
of discouraging higher levels of consumption.

47. It was pointed out that, because of the particular
technical, economic, social and institutional aspects of
agriculture, its production was subject to a great degree of
government intervention. The Conference recognized that countries
whose national agricultural policies had an important effect on
the production of, and trade in, agricultural commodities had, in
determining their policies, responsibilities which extended
beyond their boundaries. Thus, there was a need for the
harmonization of national price stabilization and support
policies in order to achieve sound growth and to maintain stable
conditions in international trade. In this respect it was
recognized that adherence to the FAO Guiding Principles on
National Agricultural Price Stabilization and Support Policies
would contribute to improving international markets. With respect
to the production of tropical commodities, orderly growth might
be secured by harmonization of the policies of exporting
countries with a view to keeping production in balance with
consumption.

48. Where conditions were appropriate, international commodity
agreements could play a significant role in limiting fluctuations
in export prices and possibly raising export proceeds of
agricultural producers. Some delegations expressed the view,
however, that more general measures, such as the adoption and
strengthening of financial arrangements and broader measures
regulating international commerce were also needed.

49. A commodity-by-commodity approach to international
commodity agreements was generally considered as essential
whatever additional approaches on more general lines might be
pursued. Measures appropriate for more orderly marketing would
differ according to the characteristics of the commodities
concerned. It was necessary to establish common general
objectives so as to ensure through their application, commodity
by commodity, a coherent approach to commodity problems taken as
a whole.

50. The attention of the Conference was drawn to some of the
conditions required for ensuring greater effectiveness of
commodity agreements. Some delegates stressed the importance of
broadening the scope of commodity agreements to include not
merely trade regulation but also provisions bearing on national
production and price policies, particularly in order to ensure
that such agreements would adequately serve the aims of
development. It was also necessary to ensure the widest possible
participation of major producing and consuming countries, since
the effectiveness of arrangements depended on the active
co-operation of all countries having an important interest in
production, consumption and trade of the commodity concerned. But
it was pointed out in this respect that governments would be
reluctant to commit themselves to such wider agreements unless
they were assured that these agreements would remain in force for
a reasonably long period of time, and particularly if the recent
trend to include a provision allowing participants to withdraw at
any time continued.

51. Consideration was given to the definition of the price
objectives of international commodity arrangements. Some
delegations stressed that an attempt had to be made to obtain a
more rational organization of international markets than that now
prevailing, with a view to ensuring remunerative returns to
exporters. Other delegates stressed that floor prices should be
ensured by means of agreed techniques which would prevent market
prices from falling below these minimum levels. Minimum prices in
international markets were considered by those advocating the
need for raising international agricultural prices as acceptable
as a transitory measure toward the implementation of a wider
organization of international markets, but not as the final
objective of such organization. It was also pointed out by some
delegations that the adoption of arrangements for raising market
prices above levels that would be determined by the forces of
supply and demand over longer periods could involve capital
transfers in favor of the exporting countries. These transfers
could contain an element of aid or support, though it would be
difficult to identify in any given situation the size of this
element or the best means of implementing it.

52. The possible effects of raising prices in international
markets on the production and consumption of individual
commodities were debated. As to the effects on consumption, some
delegates pointed out that the margin between international
prices and domestic retail prices could be reduced by policy
measures so that adverse effects on consumption could be avoided.
As to the effects on production, it was agreed that further
studies were needed to ascertain the possible effects of prices
on production and of the types of measures which might be adopted
with a view to preventing the emergence of excess supplies.
Attention was also drawn to the possibility of using part of a
possible price increase for the financing of a fund to aid
economic development of developing countries.

53. Some delegates emphasized that, in the case of quite a
number of commodities of the temperate zone and of those directly
competing with them, it was not possible to obtain adequate and
permanent improvements merely by stabilizing prices, since the
export earnings of their countries were affected by the impact of
expanded production in importing countries. Such problems arose
in particular from policies of agricultural protection in
industrialized countries. These delegates stressed that measures
to be adopted in the commodity field, either through individual
commodity agreements or more general arrangements, should include
provisions that would assure exporting countries of reasonable
guarantees for continued access to import markets. In this
respect, stress was laid on the need for special rules for
agricultural trade and on the possibility of matching tariff
concessions on industrial goods with concessions on agricultural
policies designed to assure improved conditions of access for
agricultural exports. The need for a study of the costs in real
terms of tariff concessions to individual countries was also
pointed out.

54. The attention of the Conference was drawn to other
measures for raising export earnings of developing countries,
such as improvement of marketing and grading, and of the existing
media for the exchange of information on trade and production
opportunities. In this connection, several delegates urged more
widespread development of co-operative arrangements.

55. The Conference considered that the economic development of
developing nations might be considerably advanced through the
diversification of their agricultural production and exports.
This diversification could be enhanced by the growth of
industries for the processing of agricultural commodities in
these countries, not only for domestic consumption but also for
export. It was pointed out that the development of such
industries might require the adoption of adequate measures by
industrialized importing countries to favor imports of
semiprocessed and processed goods originating in developing
areas. These measures would include the reduction or removal of
discriminatory import duties on these imports and the provision
of aid for the establishment of processing industries in
developing countries. The view was expressed that some developing
countries might find it necessary to make use of producer and
export subsidies to encourage export diversification.

56. The Conference commended the work accomplished by the
Committee on Commodity Problems (CCP).

57. The Committee's regular analysis of the world agricultural
commodity situation, in the view of the Conference, served a very
useful purpose in crystallizing the main issues confronting
governments in the commodity field. The Conference felt that the
work on projections of agricultural production, consumption and
trade, carried out under its auspices, had succeeded in placing
the prospects for agricultural commodities in a clear perspective
and thereby helped to define the magnitude and nature of the
problems to be faced. The Conference, while mindful of the need
for understanding the limitations of present projections and for
improvements in the data and methodology on which projections
were based, considered that such work should be pursued.

58. The Committee's commodity study groups had continued their
intensive study and analysis of trends and policies and in some
instances had proceeded to the practical consideration of
solutions of stabilization problems. This was the case, in
particular, of the work of the FAO Cocoa Study Group, which in
1963 submitted a draft international cocoa agreement to a United
Nations negotiating conference. The Conference expressed its keen
disappointment at the failure of this negotiating conference and
requested CCP. to study carefully the conclusions to be drawn
from this setback in the attempts to achieve stabilization by
means of a commodity agreement.

59. Note was also taken of the work proceeding in the Group on
Grains and the Group on Coconut and Coconut Products in the
exploration of stabilization problems and of the planned joint
session of the Group on Grains and the Consultative Subcommittee
on the Economic Aspects of Rice, which would consider the
interrelationships between grains.

60. With the recent establishment of the FAO Study Group on
Jute, Kenaf and Allied Fibers, the number of FAO commodity study
groups had risen to six. The Conference appreciated that, while
these groups were performing a most useful function in providing
specialized and concentrated consideration of the problems of the
commodities in question, their servicing made significant demands
on both Member Governments and the secretariat of FAO and that
there was risk of duplication. The Conference was pleased to
note, however, that CCP. had adopted and put into effect a body
of careful screening procedures and criteria for a periodic
review of the activities of its existing groups and for the
examination of requests for the establishment of new groups. The
Conference noted in this connection that further progress had
been made in collaboration between FAO and other
intergovernmental commodity bodies with related interests in the
commodity field. For example, in considering the request for the
establishment of a commodity study group on bananas, CCP had
concluded that further consideration of the problems of the
commodity should be undertaken, in collaboration with GATT,
before a decision on the request could be reached.